Joanie Brosseau-Rubald and Elton J. Tanega in Goodnight Moon. Photo by. Jamie Kraus Photography

There’s reading classic kids’ books and looking at the pictures; and then there’s interacting with them to create something new. 

One of the best things about reading to kids comes from revisiting and sharing the wonder of beloved stories. Do you take your children flying through the night in a dough suit a la Maurice Sendak’s star of In the Night Kitchen? Or maybe you regale Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit, asking your little one what garden vegetables they would nibble on and how they would escape the farmer. 

While classic literature offers plenty of nostalgia, in the world of kids’ books and bedtime stories the options have modernized and grown, making it easy to activate favorite characters and epic adventures from any story. With that in mind, here are five ways to bring that bedtime read into a real-life extravaganza. 

1. Mimic Gentle Actions in a Book

In author Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon, currently in play form at Randy Weeks Conservatory Theatre until January 25, 2026, you can read about Bunny’s evening ritual and everything it thinks about while falling asleep. But bring the magic alive by mimicking the idea, and saying good night to every object your child loves in the room. Goodnight lamp, goodnight teddy bear, goodnight Pikachu and Derpy Tiger and Barbie…the options are endless. 

Another fun book to mimic the action of is Hug Machine by Scott Campbell. In this modern storybook the main character hugs everything to make it feel better. Let your little one roam the house hugging all the favorite stuffed animals, dolls, pets, parents, chairs, and whatever else they want to embrace. There’s no limit to the hug machine, but it does need pizza to refuel.

2. Use Your Favorite Book For Visual Artistic Inspiration

Marry the joy of reading and creating tangible art all in one go. Because children’s books often come with fantastic illustrations, it’s not hard to come up with an art project to go with the story. Take Aaron Renyold’s Creepy Carrots, a spooky tale of a young rabbit being stalked by a certain orange vegetable. Add to the joy by making your own creepy bell peppers, celery, oranges, apples, and any other food your kids want to add googly eyes and fangs too. While doing it with construction paper will last, it’s not out of the question to use real vegetable too.  

Author Eric Carle’s A Very Hungry Caterpillar also opens the artistic doors to creating your own foods. The little ones will enjoy making their own caterpillar to pillage to the fridge, and/or the feast it seeks to eat. 

3. Create a Storybook Feast

So many books have food in them, as the previous examples showcase. Add on to your child’s favorite story by sending them a lunch filled with storybook delights, making a midday feast, or even theming dinner after a beloved adventure. 

For example, in cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt’s Every Night Is Pizza Night, the main character spends the whole book trying new foods. Join her and create your own pizza, bibimbap, and tagine. Don’t miss Adam Rubin’s Dragons Love Tacos either. After all, tacos are for everyone, just skip the hot sauce.

4. Use Classic Books to Have an Adventure

What better way to inspire a day out than by pretending you’re looking for bears a la the decades old We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. But please, don’t actually go looking for a dangerous animal. Instead, make a shopping trip more fun by hunting for apples, a loaf of bread, and yogurt.

The same theory can be used on a hike, when clothes shopping, or even when searching for something. Though written with few words, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen follows a hunt for a missing, or stolen, hat. You can also inspire young readers to make up stories regarding why their missing items have left, along the same idea of Drew Daywalt’s The Day the Crayons Quit.

5. Create Personal Characters and Tagalong Figures 

One of the best things about a book is falling in love with the characters, so why not push that further and help kids create their own superheroes. In Harold and the Purple Crayon, written by Crockett Johnson, the young kid makes his own world with just a line. Ask your little ones what they would create and where it would go, making them the main character of their own story.   

Regarding Maurice Sendak’s famous tome Where the Wild Things Are, open up the conversation to what your child’s naughty monsters would look like. What are the rules on the island, and what good deed would bring them home? A story, after all, is the launching point for so much more, and one should never underestimate the imagination of a child and what they can do with it.